The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Gravy Analytics Inc.and its subsidiary Venntel Inc. for unlawfully tracking and selling sensitive location data from users, including selling data about consumers’ visits to health-related locations and places of worship.

Under a proposed order, settling the FTC’s allegations, Gravy Analytics and Venntel will be prohibited from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive data in any product or service, and must establish a sensitive data location program.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that Gravy Analytics and Venntel will be prohibited from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data in any product or service, and must establish a sensitive data location program.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that Gravy Analytics and Venntel violated the FTC Act by unfairly selling sensitive consumer location data, and by collecting and using consumers’ location data without obtaining verifiable user consent for commercial and government uses.

TechCrunch reported two U.S. data brokers have agreed not to collect private location data on Americans as a pair of settlements with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which accused the companies of unlawfully tracking millions of people near to sensitive locations like healthcare facilities and military bases.

The two settlements, announced Tuesday, will prohibit Virginia-based Gravy Analytics and Georgia-based Mobilewalla from collecting and retaining people’s sensitive granular location data. This agreement was reached after the FTC accused the two data brokers — companies that profit form collecting huge amounts of people’s personal information and selling it to others – of selling millions of identifiable location data points, including where people visited clinics and places of worship.

The FTC alleges that Gravy Analytics, along with its subsidiary Venntel, collected and used consumers’ location data for commercial and government users without obtaining consent from the individuals. The organization allegedly continued to use this data even after learning that consumers hadn’t provided informed consent for their data to be sold.

Gravy Analytics also unfairly sold sensitive information about individuals, such as health or medical decisions, political activities and religious viewpoints, that had been derived and determined based on a person’s location data, according to the FTC.

NBC News reported the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is taking action against two location data companies after it said that they unlawfully tracked and sold private consumer information.

A complaint alleges that Venntel and Gravy Analytics violated the FTC Act by collecting and selling consumer data without proper consent. Gravy Analytics allegedly created a virtual geographical boundary to “identify and sell lists of consumers who attended certain events related to medical conditions and places of worship,” the FTC said in a news release. 

The Virginia-based company also allegedly sold additional lists that linked consumers to other sensitive characteristics, the release states.

The FTC said sensitive location data the companies are banned from using including. Those pertaining to medical facilities, correctional facilities, religious organizations, military installations, schools and day care centers, and shelters that serve domestic abuse survivors, the homeless or refugees.

In my opinion, it appears that Gravy Analytics and Venntel are going to face consequences for their choice to steal consumer’s data.